Apparatus for conveying boffling pins



.March'3, l1964 H. M. DowD ETAL 3,123,201

APPARATUS FOR CONVEYING BOWLING PINS HOWARD M. DOWD ROYAL L. BARROWS 20?FIG 3* r ATTORNEYS Mardi 3, 1964 H. M. DowD ETAI. 3,123,201

APPARATUS FOR CONVEYING BOWLING PINS Original Filed Dec. 3, 1956 18Sheets-Sheet 2 FIG. lb

263 Z5 SW3 236 INVLWTORS. HOWARD M. DOWD ROYAL L. l,BARROWS By A@figli/MM ATTORNEYS March 3, 1964 H. M. nowD ETAL 3,123,201

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ATTORNEYS March 3, 1964 H. M. Down ETAL 3,123,201

APPARATUS FoR CONVEYING BOWLING PINs ATTORNEYS March '3, 1964l A H. M.Down ETAL 3,123,201

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HOWARD M. Down ROYAL L. BARRows ATTORNEYS H M. DOWD ETAL APPARATUS FORCONVEYING BOWLING PINS March 3, 1964 18 Sheets-Sheet 9 Original FiledDec. 3. 1956 A1. L. BARROWS ATTORNEYS March 3, 1964 H. M. Down ETAL3,123,201

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AT TOR N EYS H. M. DOWD ETAL APPARATUS FOR CONVEYING BOWLING PINS March3, 1964 18 Sheets-Sheet 11 Original Filed Dec. 3, 1956 INVENIURS. HOWARDM. Down ROYAL 1 BARRows BY 702i,

ATTORNEYS March 3, 1964 H. M. DowD E'rAl. 3,123,201

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APPARATUS FOR CONVEYING BOWLING PINS Crignal Filed Dec. 3, 1956 18Sheets-Sheet 13 FIG. I6

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APPARATUS FOR CONVEYING BOWLING PINS original Filed Dec. s. 195e- 18Sheets-Sheet 14 FIG. I9

ATTOR N EYS March 3, 1964 H. M. Down ETAL 3,123,201

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IN V EN TORS DOWD HOWARD M y llfCBYAL L. BARROWS Pza, MMM/f ATTOR N EYSMarch 3, 1964 H. M. Down ETAL 3,123,201

APPARATUS Foa CONVEYING BOWLING PINs Criginal Filed Dec. 3, 1956 18Sheets-Sheet 17 INVENTORS. HOWARD M. DOWD iC/)YAL l BARROWS dif/M AT TQRN EYs March 3, 1964 H. M. Down ETAL APPARATUS FOR CONVEYING BOWLING PINS18 Sheets-Sheet 18 Crignal Filed Dec. 5, 1956 @NGE m W S DW nwo mOR DR.A MB. ml- AM AWV@ HR AT TORN EYS United States Patent O 3,123,201 YAPPARATUS FOR CONVEYING BOWLING PNS Howard M. Dowd, Littleton, Mass. (31Milk St., Boston, Masa), and Royal L. Barrows, Middleton, Mass. WoodlandSt., Everett 49, Mass.)

Original application Dec. 3, 1956, Ser. No. 625,739., now Patent No.3,063,716, dated Nov. 13, 1962. Exvided and this application May 27,1959, Ser. No. 816,273

4 Claims. (Cl. 198--131) This invention relates to bowling pin settingmachines and more particularly to novel mechanism for automaticallysetting duck pins and king pins. Y

This application is a division of our copending application Serial No.625,739, led December` 3, 1956, now Patent No. 3,063 ,716, for AutomaticBowling Pin Setting Machine. y n

Many mechanisms have been designed for the purpose of setting bowlingpins of the duck pin and ten pin types, but for various reasons theyhave failed to fully satisfy bowling alley proprietors and the bowlingpublic. The primary purpose of a pin setting machine is to eliminate theneed for pin boys; but for pin setting machines to fully supplant pinboys and to be commercially successful as well as acceptable to thebowling public, it is necessary not only that such machines be capableof fully performing the various functions of a pin boy, but also thatthey (1) be of compact design to lit in existing alleys without need forextensive revamping of the alley structure; (2) operate accurately andrapidly; (3) be under complete control of the bowler; (4) besubstantially free of jamming; and (5) have a cost of installation, use,and maintenance that fully justifies the fact of automation. Machineshitherto designed have failed to satisfy all of the aforesaidrequirements. Some have not been capable of fully performing all of thenormal functions of a pin boy, such as removing dead wood. Others havebeen so large or heavy as to require enlargement or strengthening ofbowling alley establishments. Still others have operated too slowly orinconsistently or have required constant attention to remove pins thatbecome jammed in the various mechanisms or have piled up in the pit dueto failure of the pin conveyor to pick them up. In many cases, thedesigns have been such as to make prohibitive the cost of installationand maintenance. Other specific faults and criticisms may be notedagainst spliecitic mechanisms.

Accordingly, the object of this invention is to provide an automaticbowling pin setting machine that is adapted to set duck pins but whichcan be modified by dimensional changes to accommodate the larger tenpins (also called king pins) and which is so designed as to be free ofthe faults noted above attendant to other pin setting machines hithertoinvented.

Another object of this invention is to provide a bowling pin settingmachine having means for sweeping pins and balls from the alley andgutters, means for removing pins and balls from the alley pit, means fordirecting balls back to the bowler, means for conveying pins from thelevel of the pit to a distributing mechanism located above the alley,storage means for receiving a complete set of pins from the distributingmeans, a pin setting rack, means for releasing pins from the storagemeans to the pin settingY rack, means under the bowlers control forlowering the rack to deposit a complete set of pins on the alley licor,means u-nder the bowlers control for causing the rack to pick upstanding pins'on the alley so as to allow dead wood to be swept from thealley and to redeposit said standing pins on the alley floor afterremoval of the dead wood, and control means for causing said variousmeans to operate in a predetermined manner so as to Lce 2 maintain acomplete set of pins available for deposit on the alley upon requestwhile at the same time permitting selective operation of the sweeper andpin setting rack to remove dead wood and, if necessary, to pick upstanding pins preparatory to removal of dead wood.

Another object is to provide improvements in (1) means for sweeping pinsfrom the alley floor; (2) means for separating balls and pins in thealley pit; (3) means for picking up, conveying, and discharging bowlingpins; (4) means for picking up, conveying, and discharging bowlingballs; (5) means for st'oring and distributing pins; (6) means forsetting pins on the alley loor and for picking up pins from the alleyfloor; and (7) means for starting and limiting operation of theaforementioned means so as to (a) control the trame of pins throughoutthe machine, (b) maintain a complete set of pins in ready reserve forsetting, (c) prevent operation of certain mechanisms except under thecorrect conditions, (d) selectively cause certain mechanisms to performone of several operations, (e) remove control of the machine from thebowler after the machine has been set in operation, and (f) restorecontrol to the bowler only after the machine has completed itsparticular operation.

Other objects and many of the attendant advantages of this inventionwill be readily appreciated as the same becomes better understood byreference to the following detailed description when considered inconnection with the accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIGS. la, 1b, 'and 1c together comprise a plan view of the bowling pinsetting machine of this invention, with certain portions broken away andomitted for ease of illustration;

FIGS. 2a, 2b, and 2c together comprise a side elevation of the samemachine, with certain portions broken away or shown in section for easeof illustration;

FIG. 3 is a sectional View taken along line 3-3 of FIG. 2a;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged fragmentary side elevation showing details of thepin sweeper carriage mechanism;

FIG, 5 is av sectional View in elevation taken along line 5 5 of FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is a sectional view taken along line 6 6 of FIG. 2c;

FIG. 7 is a sectional view of the bowling .pin elevator, the sectionbeing taken along line 7-7-7-7 of FIG. la; however, for convenience, theseveral portions ofthe pin elevator are illustrated as residing in acommon plane;

FIG. 8 is a sectional view taken along line 8 8 of FIG. 7; v

FIG. 9 is a sectional view taken along line 9-9 of FIG. 7;

FIG. 10 is an enlarged sectional view in elevation of the pindistributor mechanism, the section being taken along line 11B-10 of FIG.lb;

FIG. 11 is an enlarged fragmentary plan view of the pin distributormechanism;

FIG. 12 is an enlarged fragmentary plan view of the pin distributorshowing details of the clutch mechanism for indexing' the distributor;

FIG. 13 is a sectional view in elevation taken along ine 13-13 of FIG.12;

FIG. 14 is a sectional view in elevation of the pin reservoir sectionand the pin setting board, the view being taken along a linecorresponding to line 14--14 of FIG. 16;

FIG. 15 is a plan view of the pin storage iinger assembly;

FIG. 16 is a plan view of the pin-positioning board;

FIG. 17 is a sectional view taken along line 17-17 of FIG. 16;

FIG. 18 is a sectional view taken along line 13-18 of FIG. 16;

FIG. 19 is a fragmentary front view in elevation of the mechanism foroperating and controlling the storage linger assembly and thepin-positioning board;

FIG. 20 is an enlarged plan view of certain of the elements for openingand closing the cups of the pin-positioning board;

FIG. 21 is an enlarged plan View of t e control mechanism of themachine, including some of the mechanism Shown in FIG. 19;

FIG. 22 is a sectional view in elevation taken along line 22-22 of FIG.2l;

FIG. 23 is an enlarged side elevation of the mechanism shown in FIG. 21for raising and lowering the pin-positioning board;

FlG. 24 is an enlarged side elevation of a portion of the mechanism ofFIGS. 19 and 2l;

FIG. 25 is a perspective view showing certain of the elements of themechanism illustrated in FIGS. 19 and 21; and

FIG. 26 is a schematic representation of the electrical circuits of themachine.

Referring more particularly to the drawings, there is shown aconventional bowling alley A having a stationary pit B at the rear endthereof. Disposed at this same end of the alley is a bowling pin settingmachine constructed according to this invention. The machine asillustrated is adapted to handle duck pins. However, by appropriatelychanging the dimensions of the various pin-transporting mechanisms,machines can be constructed to handle the larger ten pins instead.

The machine can be divided into seven component mechanisms; namely, analley pit turntable C, a pin elevator D, a ball elevator E, a pinsweeper F, a pin distributor G, a pin reservoir H, and a pin spottingand respotting rack l. Continuously operating gutter belts J forsweeping balls and pins from the gutters of the alley form part of thealley pit turntable mechanism. ln addition, the machine includesmechanism for operating the aforesaid component mechanisms andelectrical controls for controlling said operating mechanism. In thefollowing specitication, the operating mechanisms and the variouselectrical controls are described concurrently with the description ofthe mechanisms with which they are associated only to the extentnecessary to facilitate proper description of the latter and toestablish the location and relationship of the former relative to thelatter; otherwise, the operating mechanisms and electrical controls aredescribed separately.

PIT TURNTABLE C Positioned in pit B of the alley is a turntable C. Theturntable is secured to and supported by a cylindrical member 2 which isrotatably secured to a bearing plate 4 fixed to the oor ofthe pit B. Alarge pulley 6 is secured to cylindrical member 2. Also located in thepit at a fixed position is a rotatable vertical shaft 8 provided with anidler pulley 10. A turntable drive motor Ml is located behind the rearwall 14 of the pit. Motor M1 has a drive pulley 16 which acts to drive abelt 18 which passes through a hole 20 in rear wall 14 and rides aboutidler pulley and pulley gear 6 to drive the turntable clockwise (FIG.1a). A plurality of rollers 22 which are rotatably secured to standards24 engage the underside of the turntable adjacent its edge and act toprevent the turntable from wobbling or breaking under the impact of pinsand balls delivered thereto from the alley.

Engaging the top surface of pulley 1t) is a wheel 19 xedly mounted on ashaft 21 extending transversely of the pit beneath the turntable. Shaft21 is journaled in bearings 23 and is provided at its ends with pulleys25 which drive endless gutter belts I. Two additional pulleys (notshown) are positioned in the gutters further back in the alley and areso positioned as to direct the upper run of the belts over the topsurface of the gutter. Pulley 1t? drives wheel 19 and shaft 21 in adirection such that the upper run of the belts moves toward the pit, asshown by the arrow in FIG. la. The gutter belts operate continuously solong as motor M1 is operating.

PIN ELEVATOR D Located at the rear end of the pit is a pin elevator D.This component mechanism comprises three integrated frame sections 26,28, and 30, and a pin conveyor comprising a pair of endless chains 32and 34 which cooperate to transport a plurality of pin-conveyingelements generally identied by numeral 36. Frame section 26 is disposedbehind rear Wall 14 of the pit and extends horizontally and laterally ofthe machine. Frame section 26 has a pair of wall members 38 and 40secured together in parallel spaced relation by a vertical end wall 42and a horizontal oor member 44 located between the upper and lower edgesof wall members 38 and 40. Floor member 44 terminates short of end wall42 and is ofrset along its center line to provide a longitudinallyextending channel section 46. At the end opposite wall 42, lloor 44curves upwardly as at 47. The curved door section 47 has a longitudinalchannel 46a which is deeper than channel 46 and connects with the latterat 152. Channel 46a is wide enough to receive the V-shaped portion 138of pin carrier elements 36 and the head but not the body of a bowlingpin. Also secured to wall members 38 and 40 above floor member 44 aretwo inclined wall members 48 and 50 which act to dellect and guide pinsinto the channel 46 of floor member 44. Wall members 43 and 5t) alsoshield chains 32 and 34 from pins falling into the trough delined bywall members 38 and 4@ and floor member 44.

At the end opposite end wall 42, the two side walls 38 land 40 arejoined to the two vertically extending side walls 52 and 54 of framesection 28. As shown in FlG. 2a, the bottom ends of side walls 52 and 54are in the same vertical planes as walls 38 and 4t), which planes areparallel to the planes of rear pit wall 14. However, side walls 52 and54 are :both permanently twisted so that their upper ends lie invertical planes extending obliquely of the machine. Extending betweenand scoured to side walls 52 and 54 is an elognated plate or partition58 having `a U-shaped channel 59 which functions as a continuation ofchannel 46a. Plate 58 is permanently twisted in yconformance with thetwist of side walls 52 and 54. The `front edges of side walls 52 and 54are also provided with ilanges 6d* and 62 which are disposed parallel toplate 58 and cooperate with the latter to provide a guideway for chains32 and 34.

Frame section Sil comprises t-wo side wall members 66 and `68 secured tothe top ends of side wall members 5.2 and `54. Both members 66 and 68have inturned anges 70 and 72 Aat their bottom edges, the flanges actingas supporting guideways for chains 32 and 34. At their forward end, sidewal-l members 66 and 68 have like pin carrier dellecting members 74 and76 on their inside surfaces. These pin carrier dellecting members arespaced lfrom each other by an amount large enough to accommodatetherebetween the neck portion of a bowling pin P but small enough tointercept and support the curved yoke portion of the pin carriers.Dellecting members 74 and 76 extend between the depending extensions 78and 80 of side wall members 66 and 68, terminating at '82. Also securedto the side Wall memibers |66y and 63 :is a at horizontal oor member 86.The rear end of floor member $6 curves downwardly, as shown at `88.Attached to depending extensions 78 and 80 by two brackets 90` is adelivery chute 92. The chute is provided with a large arch-like slot 94on the side beneath extension 78. Slot 94 iis wide Ienough to allowpassage therethrough of a bowling pin Iin upstanding position. Attachedto the `chute is a normally open switch SWS having a resiliently mountedswitch linger 96 which extends into the bottom end `of the chute througha slot 98. Switch finger 96 extends into the chute far enough to beengaged by pins P falling down through the chute. Each time a pin dropsthrough the chute, it contacts the switch linger t0 momentarily closethe switch.

1. APPARATUS FOR CONVEYING BOWLING PINS IN A BOWLING PINSETTING MACHINECOMPRISING A PAIR OF ENDLESS CHAINS HAVING A VERTICAL AND HORIZONTALRUN, SPOCKET MEANS MOUNTING SAID CHAINS IN PARALLEL SPACED RELATION ANDLIKE PATHS OF TRAVEL, MEANS FOR DRIVING SAID CHAINS IN THE SAMEDIRECTION AT THE SAME SPEED, AND A PLURALITY OF PIN-CARRYING ELEMENTSCARRIED BY SAID CHAINS, SAID PIN-CARRYING ELEMENTS EACH CONSISTING OF AU-SHAPED YOKE PORTION AND TWO STRAIGHT PORTIONS IN LINE WITH EACH OTHER,SAID STRAIGHT PORTIONS BEING INTEGRALLY JOINED AT THEIR INNER ENDS TOTHE ENDS OF SAID U-SHAPED PORTION AND EXTENDING LATERALLY AWAY FROM SAIDU-SHAPED PORTIONS, THE OUTER ENDS OF SAID STRAIGHT PORTIONS BEINGROTATABLY SECURED DIRECTLY TO SAID PAIR OF CHAINS, SAID YOKE BEING LARGEENOUGH TO ACCOMMODATE THE NECK OF A DUCK PIN BUT SMALLER THAN THE HEADOF A DUCK PIN.